P.o.V. Moira/Trajan
Moira and Trajan were excited when they and their new friends walked into the lunch room and saw Chris and Jessica. Bo and Stan joined them a few minutes later and the small pack grew. Soon the large table they were seated at as well as the one next to it were full of werewolves from both the High Valley and Grey Peak packs. Introductions flew around fast, but it was not long before the bell rang for afternoon classes. Moira looked nervously at the group from Grey Peak but was relieved when Bo, Chris, and Stan all brought out their schedules. Aside from a couple of the more basic classes, they were all going to be together. Jessica was even in the math class with Moira and Chris.
Trajan was almost making them bound down the hallway towards their Introduction to Local Cultures. Moira finally broke into a run at the sight of the rest
Diary Entry of Patrick Leary (14)The first few days of school were quite successful. I was able to almost completely avoid my sibling and her sycophantic followers. I only had a few basic classes that overlapped with them and was lucky enough that only Seamus crossed my path and he seemed content to ignore each other after a brief greeting. I have learned not to trust him and Stan since they sided with Moira. It is annoying having to leave school early for warrior training. Luckily there are only 7 weeks left and we will be considered graduated from the program. The day can't come fast enough.Moira came to talk to me one evening this week. I haven’t yet figured out what she was trying to do though. She was asking me about being lonely at school and rambling about the “feeling of packless-ness.” It could be she was trying to taunt me
NarratorThe last weeks of training passed in an exhausted blur as the young wolves settled into school routines while keeping up with their practices. It was taxing for many who found balancing the stress and time of training with their homework was very difficult. Jessica impressed many of the leaders. She had the hardest course load of any of the freshmen having tested out of her science and math freshman level courses and gone straight to the sophmore classes. She attended brawler training, remaining a fierce warrior, while still keeping up with her volunteer hours at the pack clinic. There were some full warriors that could have learned from her work ethic and time management. Captain Marta had even contacted Dr. Slater to be sure Jessica was getting enough rest and wasn't feeling taxed but hiding it.Because the goal of their training was t
P.o.V. Moira/TrajanMoira and Trajan noted the look of disbelief on Callie and Carmel’s faces as they explained the options and asked the team for advice. It was clear they assumed Trajan and Moira would just be dictating the plan, not asking the squad. Annie, however, thought for a moment before offering up an idea.“I think we use Carmel and my skills at least at the start. If we circle the edge of the woods, Carmel can find where another team has entered and then I can scout ahead once we get close. If you and Callie can at least follow relatively close and quiet, we should be able to get the drop on at least a group or two before we need to rethink our strategy. What do you think, Carmel?”“Oh…” he seemed startled to be addressed by Annie and gave a hesitant look to
P.o.V. Moira/TrajanAlessa bucked and snapped but couldn’t force Moira off of her back. Finally she began to change forms, but Moira was ready and planted their feet while drawing up to full height. Jessica was more than a head shorter and couldn’t hold her footing. As she began to stop struggling, Moira quickly released the chokehold and locked her down to the ground. They didn’t want to hurt their friend. A submission would be enough, and Jessica had no more options if the rest of the group could take down the other three.As they came to this conclusion, Moira focused on holding Jessica while Trajan turned their gaze on the others. Without the mind link they couldn’t really tell how their squad was doing, but they needn't have worried. Ginger was atop Bo, snapping at him and pinning him facedown. Annie was wrestling with one
P.o.V. Moira/TrajanTrajan stood resolutely in the path of Sarah and her team. Once their group had located the other squad, they all circled up and decided on the plan. Jewel and Ginger would approach quietly to try and get a good idea of how she had her team set up. They would then drop back to Trajan and Carmel and decide on the best method from there. Carmel volunteered to go with Annie since they were both specifically trained in stealth, but Moira rejected it outright. Seeing the confusion on his face, Moira explained that he was the most valuable member of the team. If something bad happened to any of them, he would still be able to find the other squads, and more importantly, avoid them. Then he and whoever else was left could wait for the perfect moment to strike. Carmel was embarrassed by the praise and kept emphasizing how critical the whole team was, but Annie and Callie stopped him by
P.o.V. Annie/JewelMoira took off into the foliage, and we followed as quickly as we could. Sarah’s call was so loud, there was no way the other groups didn’t know exactly where we were. Moira and Trajan shifted mid-run as they made their way into the woods. Trajan began changing our path more towards the river where Moira had said Rich’s or Chris’s group may be located. Jewel focuses on keeping us running while listening for pursuers so that I can try and figure out what Trajan could be thinking. Maybe he is expecting this group to come after us so is going to try and circle around them? Maybe he’s trying to make two groups collide, but that’d put us in the middle.“Someone’s coming,” Jewel gasped. I couldn’t tell if any of the others noticed, so I urged her to the front of the group to warn
P.o.V. MoiraRich and Chris’s wolves were the first to emerge from the woods. Claud and Otto walked side-by-side with great menace and purpose. Clearly they had come to an agreement to deal with us before ending the brawl between themselves. Only four wolves followed so maybe it took a few minutes to realize what happened and some had gotten too excited in the collision.I pulled myself up to my full height and stood as haughtily as I could manage before letting Trajan have control enough to bellow in our cockiest voice, “Who wants to play King of the Mountain with me?” I smirked at his taunt and hoped it was effective. We needed all eyes on us while the others scattered and maybe we could goad someone to act rashly. I spread my arms wide and Trajan let out a humming sound that was incredibly grating.
P.o.V. PatrickI am so excited I can’t concentrate at all. The dreaded training days are finally over. I can feel the joy of freedom coursing through my veins as I think about no longer having to wrestle with smelly classmates or get hit or kicked or slammed on the ground. All I can think about, as I sit warm and cozy in the plushest armchair in the library, is how much I will be able to do with this extra time. No more leaving school early or struggling to get homework and projects done. I can finally join clubs, work on group projects with other students, and go to after school events.The first thing I plan on doing is spending more time with my peers. Some of my classmates have begun practicing for the debate team and I will finally be able to join them. Calpernia, a vampire from the High Top clan whose father is second to their sire, invites
RichBy the time we had finished handing everything over to Patrick, Trisha, and their group, Troi was long gone from the pack house. Even their scent was growing faint as Claud tracked them through the forest and up towards some of the overhangs. It was well past dark when he finally found more than a wisp of them and was able to hone in on their location.As he got closer I realized where they were. It was the overhang where we found the phoenix feathers as kids. Sure enough, they were sitting on that ledge looking out into the distance. They were so focused, they didn’t even acknowledge Claud’s approach. I shifted back and put on the clothes he’d carried before climbing up beside them.They still didn’t act as if they noticed anyone else here. I tried to wait, but eventually grew
Alpha DarrenWith the discovery of survivors, the path forward seemed much more navigable than when we were dealing with a pack that had been entirely destroyed. As Teddy and his uncle spoke it was like watching fog clear from everyone in the room. When he mentioned Trisha finding her mate the relief from the other end of the line seemed to turn to excitement. That was the moment I realized what that actually meant.While Fallon had planned for numerous outcomes from the party she threw the kids to help find their mates, I don’t think she actually considered the possibility that Patrick may be mated to the sole heir of an Alpha. For any pack with no one in line to inherit, having their child mated to the offspring of an Alpha was a clear path forward and made the succession very easy. From what Fallon has said, Trisha was not raised to lead her p
XXXThe group making their way through Flowing Waters was taking ages. I understand their caution, but we have already been out here for a day waiting for their arrival. I had to hope they would investigate the house enough to find the message we left behind for them to discover. If they did not take the time, we would need to attract their attention enough to be discovered but still not be seen as a threat. That would be far more challenging and may even backfire if everyone doesn’t play their parts right.Luckily they were as thorough as I expected and one of the ones investigating the pack house did uncover the message we left. I had the scout who was watching them cut contact at that point and made sure everyone in the cavernous hideout was ready to put on a show. These warriors would be easy. They were already going to be sympathetic, as lon
TroiWe weren’t taking any chances with our guests until we had people reporting back from Flowing Waters everything they found. Our warriors reported that Trisha and Teddy stayed away from the rest of the pack and basically in a few rooms of the packhouse over the next few days. The only time the three weren't with him was when he went for his runs with dad. Then they'd stay together wherever he left them until he returned. When he did, the boys would bail while he and Trisha spent time together.The warriors who followed the boys reported that Teddy sometimes made brief phone calls. Usually that evening or the day after he would report something to the leaders. Dad wouldn't let us work with Tyko to listen in on his conversation. He still doesn't fully believe us that there is something suspicious about the wolves from Flowing Waters worth being
EnvyEverything clicked into place as Patrick spoke. His sister’s deeper voice when we were in the room upstairs definitely struck a nerve and I realized now she was the one taunting us after the failed High Valley assault. It also explained the way she was included at a critical level in the discussions of possible attacks on packs, though with twins it was possible they would both have a role in running the pack. Even knowing his sister’s ferocity and backing, I couldn’t help but be a little excited. We had found our way in to get through the pack defenses at Grey Peak and probably High Valley.I laid the groundwork for getting him away from the pack with the lure of power of his own. I could feel Strigga’s discomfort at our manipulation of our mate, but I made her understand he would be joining us in the end. If we told him t
PatrickIt was hard to know how to help Envy with everything going on. I was slightly glad we had not completed the marking process. I only occasionally got pangs of stress from her instead of the full blown grief she was clearly under. Moira’s suggestion that Envy stay in my room was completely shocking, but I later realized she must have said that just to get us out of her hair and annoy Mother all at once. Mother was entirely opposed to us staying there together alone, but didn’t want to push the issue openly where others would wonder why. Then she may have to admit she was worried about Colm or pretend she was against us completing the mate-bond for some reason. Either of which would also have benefitted Moira so it was really a win-win for her to make the suggestion.It worked for us. While we didn’t mark each other, we were able
TeddyCaleb’s quick thinking following Patrick’s sister and her friends seems to have paid off. I was able to call and warn our Boss and work out a plan quickly. The rogues torched the pack buildings and burned the bodies after the attack, so all evidence would be untraceable. By the time anyone went to investigate, everyone’s scents would have been wiped clean. He got off the phone with me and I deleted the log of the call. I continued the path I walked and turned towards the training fields. Exactly five minutes later he had one of the guys who joined up with me from Flowing Waters call me. In the brief call, he filled me in on happenings at the base while I acted as if I found out the world ended.I looked up dramatically before running toward the training field to find any leader really. It lucked out that the Beta was there and I
RichAs if the whole issue with Patrick finding his mate wasn’t enough, now Troi was having to deal with what looked like a war against packs and a potential spy or assassin inside ours. They’ve pushed themselves hard since we all were presented to the pack. Basically doing double duty here and High Valley as well as school activities and warrior training. They started to seem more on edge once people in our friend group started finding mates. It got even worse when their dad named them heir and Patrick got sick and they had even more to deal with. I was waiting for them to snap and I could see the moment it was about to happen.When they began to bulk up and I could see Trajan pushing forward, I knew they had reached a breaking point. I couldn’t tell if it was the news of all the attacks or something with Patrick’s mate or thei
TroiWhen Trisha pulled away she shot an embarrassed and scared glance at the everyone present that caused Mother to burst into tears and pull her into a bone crushing hug. Even Dad went over to mutter words of support and how we’d do everything we could to help and that he had the best warriors already on it and had rallied allies. Patrick kept in physical contact with his mate the whole time and pulled her back into his chest as soon as Mother released her. Trisha’s eyes were red, but we noticed that there were no signs of tears on her face, Patrick’s shirt, or Mother’s shoulder.Something about this whole situation felt wrong. Teddy said he got a call from a friend at his pack who said that something had happened. But that was only a couple of hours ago at this point and the coven’s scrying showed that the attack was fa